House: Three Actors Promoted to Series RegularsThursday, October 04, 2007

FOX announced today that three of the new faces brought on to help House this season, in the wake of three members of his team leaving (Omar Epps, Jennifer Morrison, and Jesse Spencer), will be upgraded to series regular status. While it was initially thought that only two of the newbies would join the cast permanently, it appears that FOX changed their mind amidst House's incredible early season ratings and went with all three. These actors are Kal Penn (Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle), Olivia Wilde (The OC) and Peter Jacobson (Transformers).

This is exciting news for House fans, or at least should be, because it will keep the show from getting stale, while at the same time bringing in some talented actors. The worry with procedurals is that audiences will tire of seeing the same things and same interactions over and over. New team members for House will throw a nice wrench into the proceedings. I don't know much about Peter Jacobson, but Kal Penn and Olivia Wilde are two of my favorites.

Kal Penn most famously played Kumar in the Harold and Kumar movie. That in and of itself is enough to make viewers excited. He's also appeared on 24, where he must have impressed FOX enough to get the gig on House. In fact, FOX likes to cultivate relationships with young actors and put them in numerous positions to succeed. Take the third new cast member of House, Olivia Wilde. FOX gave Wilde her first big break in Skin, the short-lived porn-themed version of Romeo and Juliet that was canceled after only a few episodes. Later, FOX brought Wilde back as Marisa's lesbian love interest on The OC. Now, she's back again on FOX. They must like her.

Epps, Morrison, and Spencer are all slated to return to House, but it is unclear in what capacity.